Peter O'Toole Retiring From Acting

After sixty years of performing, 79-year old Peter O'Toole confirmed in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter) that he's retiring from acting.

O'Toole says "It is time for me to chuck in the sponge. To retire from films and stage. The heart for it has gone out of me: it won’t come back. My professional acting life, stage and screen, has brought me public support, emotional fulfillment and material comfort. It has brought me together with fine people, good companions with whom I’ve shared the inevitable lot of all actors: flops and hits. However, it’s my belief that one should decide for oneself when it is time to end one’s stay. So I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell."

O'Toole was nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards and though never winning a competitive Oscar, he was bestowed with an honorary statuette in 2003.

O'Toole's career includes such films as "Lawrence of Arabia," "Lord Jim," "The Lion in Winter," "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," "Man of La Mancha," "Caligula," "The Last Emperor," "Ratatouille," "The Stunt Man," "Troy," "Man Friday," "High Spirits," and "Venus" along with TV work in "The Tudors," "Masada," and "Casanova".